“TAKING ON THE KENNEDYS” AT STRANGER THAN FICTION

By Mary Anderson Casavant

Ever since the great documentarian Robert Drew turned his camera on then Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in the 1960 documentary, Primary, the campaign film has been one of the great genres of documentary filmmaking. So, it was no small compliment to director  Josh Seftel when Thom Powers introduced Seftel’s 1996 film Taking on the Kennedys as “one of the great campaign documentaries” at Stranger than Fiction last night.

Made when Seftel was only twenty-six years old, Taking on the Kennedys follows the Republican doctor Kevin Vigilante as he runs for Congress against Patrick Kennedy, Ted Kennedy’s youngest son. Despite the fact that Seftel was (and still is) a self-described liberal, it’s a balanced film, one sympathetic to both candidates.

Determined to run a clean campaign, Vigilante finds himself between a rock and hard place when Patrick’s team starts playing very, very dirty. Sticking close to Vigilante’s side, Seftel manages to capture the awkward comedy of the campaign season — including the befuddled look on Vigilante’s face when he stumbles Kennedy bad mouthing him to the press.

Vigilante’s shock that the political process lacks integrity is perhaps even more endearing than it must have been at the time. During this rather harrowing political season, it’s hard not to feel nostalgic for a time when there was a politician naive enough to think he could play it clean until Election Day.

Taking on the Kennedys is available on Netflix and will re-air on PBS this fall. I spoke to Seftel before the screening.

Filmmaker: How did you first get involved with this projected?

Seftel: I had made a film, a documentary, about Romanian orphanages, abandoned children in Romania. Through the process of that I met Kevin Vigilante. When I heard he was running for Congress, I thought I should call him and see if he needs any help on his campaign. So I called him, and he said there’s something I need to tell you I’m a Republican. I was shocked because I always thought he was a Democrat based on his social activism. I didn’t want to help … Read the rest

DOCUMENTARIES GO IN BLOOM AND UNDER THE KNIFE

By Scott Macaulay

As part of her series “Documentaries in Bloom” at the Maysles Center, curator, critic, and Filmmaker contributor Livia Bloom has assembled a fascinating program this week comprised of three rarely shown films all dealing with plastic surgery and the construction of beauty. The centerpiece is Mitch McCabe’s feature Youth Knows No Pain, in which the filmmaker (and daughter of a plastic surgeon) examines America’s “culture of anti-aging,” juxtaposing her research with an examination of not only her own face but her own attitudes towards her body as a result of being her father’s daughter. I saw the film when it screened on HBO last year, and its commentary is witty, engaging and non-didactic. Definitely recommended. Also on the bill are two related short works from almost 30 years ago. Daisy: The Story of a Facelift is a 1982 film by Dr. Michael Rubbo described thusly: “Middle-aged Daisy shares her decisions, doubts, and stomach-turning medical procedure in this rare featurette from the earliest days of cosmetic surgery.” Finally, a rarely-seen short film by artist Harun Farocki documents a Playboy centerfold shoot. The entire program begins at 6:00 PM each night beginning tonight, Wednesday, July 16, through Friday, July 18. Visit the Maysles Institute site for more info. And, oh yeah, director Mitch McCabe will be present for a Q and A each night.

… Read the rest

INSIDE ENVISION: JENNIFER ARNOLD’S “A SMALL ACT” |
By Mike Plante

Presented by the IFP and UN, Envision is a daylong program dealing with the addressing of global issues through documentary. It takes place Saturday, July 10, and you can learn more here. Jennifer Arnold’s A Small Act is one of two features that will be screened at the event.

As an impoverished boy in Kenya, Chris Mburu received the fortune of one person’s small donation. When WWII-survivor Hilde Back anonymously sponsored an African child’s education, Chris not only went through school but also became a Harvard-educated human rights lawyer for the UN, all unbeknownst to Hilde. So inspired, Chris and his cousin Jane Wanjiru Muijai started the Hilde Back fund, their own scholarship fund to help Kenyan children pay to go to secondary school. In the vibrant documentary A Small Act, filmmaker Jennifer Arnold explores the world of “every dollar helps” and the incredible ripple effects possible. Arnold captures the story of Chris’s life, as Chris travels to meet Hilde for the first time, the developing process of the new Hilde fund and the lives of three children who may benefit from it.

Filmmaker: How did you hear about Chris and Hilde in the first place?

Arnold: I went to the University of Nairobi as an undergraduate for a year abroad and Jane, Chris’s cousin, she and I lived next door to each other in the dorms. I stayed in touch with her and wanted to give money to a kid in Kenya. So I called her and said, “Who’s trustworthy? I want to make sure that the money’s going to get to the kids. I don’t want it stolen.” She told me “My cousin and I are starting a fund, and he’s looking for a sponsor,” then started telling me the story. I thought it would be an amazing doc.

Chris had met Hilde for the first time already so I felt like, “Oh it already happened, that’s a bummer because it would’ve been a great film.” Then I had found out that he had videotaped her coming to Kenya and I said, “Please send me that videotape!” … Read the rest